November 26, 2010
First Submission to Amazon Studios
Category: filmmakingA writing friend recently introduced me to Amazon Studios. It seems that Amazon has jumped into the movie business by becoming a producer of sorts, and has a first look agreement with Warner Bros.
The way Amazon works is like this… you upload either a feature-length screenplay or a movie to the Amazon Studios website. By uploading your work, you agree to an automatic 18-month exclusive option, which Amazon has the right to renew for an additional 18 months if they wish to. Amazon retains the rights to the script so be sure you’re okay with that.
In the case of a screenplay (which is all I’ve really researched), your work is listed according to at most two categories, and is available for site visitors to download and review… of, if they are so inclined, to write a revision of. Each revision also is listed separately on the Amazon site. Plus, if a filmmaker wishes to, he or she can turn your script (or any of the revisions) into a movie, and then submit that film to Amazon.
Should Amazon actually take an interest in your script (which is unlikely), and end up producing it, you’ll get paid. If it’s an original, you get all the money. If it’s a revision, Amazon will determine, based on the extent of the revision, how the money gets divided up between original writer and revisionist.
Overall, this seems like an interesting experiment in using crowd sourcing as a part of the movie making process.
I decided that my very first screenplay, Deadpoint, would be a good one to experiment with, so I created an Amazon account and uploaded it. You can check it out at: http://studios.amazon.com/projects/1540.
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